Home Alone

I don’t know how many of you actually have time alone, but my “me time” is something that I personally relish — it’s so seldom that I have time completely to myself.

So here it is 6 days after surgery and I’m all by myself. My husband and/or girlfriend have been with me pretty much constantly since surgery, which is a good thing considering the drugs and limited use of the right arm. However, it’s now time for husband to go back to work and leave me to my own devices.

All things considered, I’m doing super. I haven’t even had any drugs since the second day after surgery except for a couple of Tylenol at night. I’m getting along really well. I’ve found that my right arm isn’t totally useless (with a little adaptation, I can type AND run my mouse), and my left hand is far more useful than I’ve ever expected. I can’t discount, however, how much surgery really takes out of you. I still sleep a lot and get tired easily, but that will improve as I’m up and about more.

Yesterday was a good day, although I slept for a lot of it. The lady who cleans for me came and so I moved into the guest room so she would have full access to the house and master bedroom/bath. I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until after 2:00 pm. I had wanted to get out and go see a movie since it was my husband’s last day at home. So once I did wake up I scurried to get showered and dressed (which is quite a production) and we made a 4:00 movie followed by a great dinner at a favorite Italian restaurant. I was completely “tuckered” by the end of the day. However, it was good to wear “big girl clothes” and go outside for a change.

The one fly in this ointment is that it’s been almost two weeks since my last Enbrel injection. Like a fox that has discovered the door to the hen house is unlatched, I can feel it lurking in the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment to pounce. The fact that I’m resting as much as I am is probably all that’s saved me to this point, but I’m starting to feel the twinges in the knees, the pains in the fingers, the ache in the back. I’ve got 2-3 more weeks without Enbrel, so as well as I’m doing with rotator cuff surgery, I fear that I won’t be so lucky with RA. I just hope that once I start back on Enbrel that I don’t go through the initial injection site reactions that I experienced when I first started taking it.

I’m doing my exercises three times a day, and since they’re “passive” that’s also exercising my left / replaced shoulder at the same time. Maybe I’ll get some benefit for it out of this whole ordeal as well. That would be a good thing.

I get my stitches out in three days, then go back a couple of weeks after that for a follow-up visit. In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy being home alone and get caught up on some reading and relaxation.